What happened at the Battle of Boyacá in Colombia?
The Battle of Boyacá
La batalla de Boyacá
7 August 1819. In the rainy season of 1819 Bolívar led an army from the Venezuelan plains over the flooded llanos and the freezing páramo of Pisba into the heart of New…
Draft: not yet checked against its sources.
Where: Colombia
What happened
In the rainy season of 1819 Bolívar led an army from the Venezuelan plains over the flooded llanos and the freezing páramo of Pisba into the heart of New Granada, a route the royalists thought impossible. After victories at Gámeza and the Pantano de Vargas, on 7 August 1819 his 2,850 men met Colonel José María Barreiro's 2,670 royalists near the bridge over the Teatinos river, 14 kilometres from Tunja. The battle lasted about six hours and ended with the surrender of the royalist army and Barreiro's capture. The viceroy fled Bogotá, and three days later the patriots entered the capital unopposed. 7 August is a national holiday in Colombia, and the Puente de Boyacá is a monument.
Say it
El 7 de agosto de 1819 Bolívar ganó la batalla de Boyacá.
On 7 August 1819 Bolívar won the battle of Boyacá.
Why it matters
Boyacá freed New Granada and gave Bolívar the base from which Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru were liberated. It is the battle Colombians name when they say the country was born.
Read about it
Connected
- The independence of Spanish America (1808–1826)
- The Florero de Llorente: Bogotá's 20 July (20 July 1810)
- The Florero de Llorente: Bogotá's 20 July (20 July 1810)
- Bolívar writes the Jamaica Letter (6 September 1815)
- Bolívar writes the Jamaica Letter (6 September 1815)
- Gran Colombia, Bolívar's republic (17 December 1819–17 November 1831)
- Gran Colombia, Bolívar's republic (17 December 1819–17 November 1831)
Sources
- The Battle of Boyacá, the decisive feat for Colombian independence — Colombia.co (Marca País Colombia)
- History of Colombia's independence — Colombia.co (Marca País Colombia)